Apple Watch ghost touches? Apple thinks it has a fix - just turn it off and on again

If you own an Apple watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 you might have been suffering from so-called ghost touches since the models launched back in September of 2023. But now Apple has a fix, and it also seems that the problem is affecting more devices than was first thought.

While it was thought that the ghost touch problem was limited to Apple's latest wearables, the company has now apparently admitted that the issue is affecting those who own Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch Series 8, and Apple Watch Ultra devices as well. That's according to information shared in a memo that was sent to Apple Authorized Service Providers.

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Those service providers have been told that they should not replace the watches of those who report the ghost touch issue, but should instead tell users to try a forced restart of their devices instead. That force restart involves pressing and holding the side button and Digital Crown at the same time for 10 seconds or until the watch restarts. Apple also says that affected Apple Watch owners should be told to make sure that they are running the latest versions of watchOS, perhaps suggesting that the company intends to release a software fix for the issue at a later date.

The ghost touch issue shows itself as inputs on the Apple Watch display that have not been caused by physical taps by the user. The issue can cause phone calls to be made by accident, among other things, and is particularly troublesome to those who are impacted.